Usually a golfer will view an imaginary putter path line from the ball position to the cup location. He tries to strike the ball along the putter path line, but instead improperly strokes the ball along a path that is oblique to the intended line.
The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide an aid for assisting a golfer in developing his xe2x80x9cmuscle memoryxe2x80x9d to correctly strike the ball along a correct putter path. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the teaching aid includes a resiliently coated rod (pillow) that is placed on a putting pad where a practice ball is usually placed. Rubber-bands support each end of the rod so that it opposes the motion of the club as it strikes the pillow toward an imaginary cup.
The putting pad has a line describing the intended ball path. The pillow has a line intended to be aligned with the line on the putting pad. When the golfer correctly and squarely strikes the pillow, the line on the pillow is aligned with the putter path line. After repeatedly practicing this putting motion, the user then removes the pillow from the pad, and replaces it with a practice ball. He then can determine his improvement in his putting stroke.
In another embodiment of the invention, the user can practice his golf swing with other clubs using a similar technique, that is a resiliently coated rod is placed in the location of the ball, with the axis of the rod at right angles to the intended ball path. The ends of the rod are resiliently connected to the pad by rubber strips so as to be independently movable in the direction of the ball travel. By repeatedly and correctly striking the coated rod, the user can develop his muscle memory for a proper swing.
A pylon is mounted adjacent one end of the pad to assist the golfer in properly initiating and completing his back swing.
In either case, the object of the invention is to provide an apparatus to assist the golfer in striking the resiliently coated rod square to the intended line of flight. The putter then tells the body how to react.
Some prior art related to this invention includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,912 issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Robert D. Hickman for xe2x80x9cGolf Putting Teaching Aidxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,719 issued May 20, 1997 to Terry W. Franklin for xe2x80x9cGolf Putting Teaching Aidxe2x80x9d.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.